Vampires
Vampire is the term given to those creatures who have been afflicted by the Curse of Years. Though collectively they are referred to as a race, vampirism is more akin to a disease of the blood; vampires are not born but created from the progeny of other races. Overview Gifted and cursed with undead immortality, vampires feed off the energies latent within living creatures-- energies that are particularly strong in times of terror and pain. They are a savage, decadent breed, consumed with dark passions and blood hunger. Vampires are long-lived-- around two hundreds years on average. Only the Bloodchiefs, the mysterious progenitors of their race, may give the Curse of Years. Whenever a vampire fully drains the blood of a living creature without destroying the husk, a vampire null is created from the body. If nulls are left without orders, they will hunt and kill any and all living things that they can find. Vampires garb themselves in leather and insect carapaces ornamented with silks and gauzes. They often decorate their skin with paint made from blood and minerals. Complex layered clothing appeals to them, and they long ago adopted almost aristocratic styles of costuming. Because they aren't warm-blooded, they suffer no discomfort wearing heavy outfits in even the fetid air of Guul Draz, their tribal home. Society The nature of the Curse of Years and Zendikar itself makes Vampire society a primal, savage affair. Comprised of countless origins and creeds, they are nevertheless united by their undying existence, and thus share a perverse sense of brotherhood. Theirs is a culture obsessed not merely with death, but with near-perpetual slaughter-- of dark, moonless nights and feasts of rich, flowing vitae; of horrific "blood hunts" and ritual sacrifices to Dark Gods upon crude, primitive altars. Bloodchiefs, the progenitors of their race, control the opulent city of Malakir, which, in contrast to nature of their race as a whole, is perhaps the most cultured place on Zendikar. Here, many vampires value art, ritual, and even primitive theater, and their sense of macabre ornamentation has a dark appeal even to some non-vampires (although other races tend to admire from a distance). Vampire society is divided by "family" allegiances, each family beholden to a different Bloodchief. The five greater families in Guul Draz are Nirkana, Kalastria, Emevera, Urnaav, and Ghet. Dozens of other lesser families are scattered across Guul Draz, each with a contingent of undead nulls appropriate to their place in vampire society. These families control both tightly clustered villages and the few routes through the swamp that connect them, comprising a region known as the Dark Barony. Cast in perpetual night, non-Vampires within these borders eke out a miserable existence in a perverse mockery of a traditional feudal society, both dependent and preyed upon by their cruel taskmasters. The main currency of any family is in its connections, its relationships, and, of course, its feeding stock. Any visitor to their lands is well advised to have the protection and patronage of a family, especially if they intend to attempt to live amongst the vampires. The Curse of Years Vampires require mortal blood to sustain their ageless existence. Although the Bloodchiefs and families try to contain the number of true vampires and nulls in the land, their population is slowly increasing, placing a potential threat on their food supply. At the moment, offshore raids help to sustain their needs, but the Bloodchiefs realize that care must be taken not to arouse the ire of their neighbors lest Malakir find itself at war. Experiments are performed by their best and brightest minds, hoping to overcome the limitations of their Curse, or continually farm blood from their prey, but so far all that has been achieved is the creation of some truly horrendous creatures. =Vampire PCs= Born out of darkness but never undead, some forgo their beastial ways and abstain from their predatory nature. They prefer instead to mingle with their "food", and some even protect it as some penance for their Kin's wrongdoing. Others prefer to let their inhibitions slide and go about feasting on others like an open buffet. Some always pay the penance, while others revel in sin. Play a vampire if you want... *to be a predatory creature who either struggles with his nature or revels in it. *to be able to replenish your own strength by hurting your foes *to be a member of a race that favors the fighter, paladin, warlock and warlord classes. Physical Qualities For the most part, vampires look very much like members of their original race. Their skin is slightly paler than before, as if ill or badly chilled. Definitive clues to their nature require close examination: Their canine teeth-- both upper and lower-- are more prominent than normal, the points considerably sharper. They do not breathe except when speaking, and have no pulse or heartbeat. They also produce no warmth from their own bodies; their flesh is room temperature, which in contrast to most races will feel unusually cool to the touch, even clammy. If examined while sleeping, a vampire will appear truly dead unless awakened or his rest is fitful; cold and unmoving, there is little to distinguish one from a fresh corpse, and for this reason they always prefer to sleep alone and undisturbed unless joined by those who know of their nature. They can pass more convincingly for the living when they have recently fed: their hearts beat for a short time after drinking blood, distributing it throughout their bodies, and for a while they appear flush and healthy-colored, feeling almost naturally warm. Many of the more 'feral' vampires possess bony protrusions that jut out of their shoulders and arms, further adding to their fearsome appearance. Vampires are not truly undead; rather, scholars believe that the Curse of Years grants them a sort of necromantic "metabolism" that grants them their considerable power and longevity. They must feed to sustain themselves, and may even die of starvation if they do not. A vampire deprived of blood may last only marginally longer than a human deprived of food, and that is only because a sufficiently large binge can sustain them for days before they feel hunger again. Furthermore, while they can easily survive damage to most organs as long as the overall damage to their bodies is not too great, one organ is still of importance: The heart. If badly damaged, it cannot pump blood to the rest of the body where it is used to arrest decay and heal wounds, although saturated with blood as it is it tends to recover swiftly. However, if the heart is pierced and the weapon left in place, the heart is unable to heal itself, and thus cannot nourish the rest of the vampire's body. If the vampire is already disabled from other wounds, he will not be able to recover until the impaling weapon is removed. For this reason, spears and longswords are often used by those expecting to fight a vampire, and the traditional hammer and stake is still popular when attempting to destroy them as they rest. Despite the claims of some regional folklore, a wooden stake is not necessary; any weapon that can thoroughly impale the vampire will work. However, impaling the heart on its own will not necessarily kill the vampire; if the damage is not sufficient to destroy him (quite possible if he was staked while asleep and otherwise uninjured), then he may be saved by an ally before he starves. For this reason, and also that it can be difficult to tell if a vampire is truly dead, most hunters will finish the job by beheading their target once the stake is in place. Only a Bloodchief may grant the Curse of Years, in a delicate process of draining the person's blood and life energy and seeding them with a portion the vampire's own. If properly done, the vampiric life force grows in place of the mortal's natural energy, eventually replacing it. When the natural life force becomes too weak, the mortal sickens and enters a death-like state, and once the transplanted vampiric essence grows strong enough, he rises again as a new vampire. Often this occurs over the course of a day or two, leaving enough time to be buried; if done gradually and with great care, however, the subject may transition directly from life to undeath, remaining conscious as his mortal blood is replaced with his vampiric life force. Folklore ascribes a number of fantastical powers to the vampire, but most of these are within the reach of mortal practitioners of various magical arts. It is almost certainly true that any power mentioned in the myths was in fact possessed by at least one vampire somewhere, but no given vampire will have mastered all of them. Many learn such powers as part of their chosen vocation: A vampire who takes the form of a wolf and commands nocturnal predators may simply be a druid, and one with supernatural charm and the power to dominate minds might just be a bard. However, even those who have not studied any supernatural arts have the capacity to develop certain characteristic powers if they choose, but these abilities are no less difficult to master than a wizard's spells or a cleric's prayers. Playing a Vampire Vampires are a complicated sort; most treat the living as little more than cattle, feeding whenever convenient. A rare few live a simple but elegant life amongst the other sentient races, either hiding the fact they are vampires or fighting off their baser urges. These vampires usually hail from wealthy noble houses, granting them the freedom (and influence) to travel so openly. Vampire Adventurers Vampires tend to adventure for a few reasons, mostly concerns about wealth, power, and prestige. Others feel that their efforts allow them to retain some connection to their previous life, though in the end, this is nothing but a facade. Vampires are often Rogues, Warlords or Wizards, but due to their quest for power, some also become Warlocks, making pacts with even more obstinate unfathomable powers than their already vampiric origins. Because they are physically quite strong, Vampires make excellent Rangers and Fighters. Although within their ancestral homeland, Vampires are the undisputed masters of all they survey, many seem disturbingly quick to suppress their predatory nature when interacting with members of other races abroad, and can appear quite civil. Perhaps it is because they realize that beyond the boundaries of the Dark Barony, they are outnumbered and vulnerable, or perhaps they simply know something the mortals around them do not. Few wish to find out the answer. Gallery Image:Blood_seeker_art_by_greg_staples.jpg Image:Feature56_55a.jpg Image:Feature56_53a.jpg Image:Feature56_53bcf.jpg Image:Feature56_54a.jpg Image:Feature56_54bce.jpg Image:Stf61_vampireNighthawk.jpg|The Nighthawks stand silent vigil over the borders of the Dark Barony. Image:286_felix.jpg|A feast of blood.